After the events of the last chapter, it's safe to say that Akane could use some alone time so there won't be any Zuko in this chapter. I'm especially looking forward to this chapter, because there's going to be a slight plot twist at the end. You'll know what it is when you read it so this chapter takes place during Lake Laogai.

Saving the Unsaveable

It wasn't until after Akane had decided that she needed to figure things out that she realised she had nowhere else to go. She certainly couldn't go looking for the Avatar and ask to stick around with him for a while considering their history together. With nowhere to go, Akane spent the night just wondering around the Lower Ring while trying to stay out of trouble. She had taken the time to see Pao and tell him that she would need some time off while requesting that he passed the message onto Iroh and Zuko so that they wouldn't worry about her.

This was time that Akane would be taking to figure out her feelings for Zuko once and for all. Admitting that she liked Zuko as more than a friend had been hard enough for Akane since it had hit her like a tonne of bricks. Now she just had to figure out just how deep her feelings for Zuko were before she could face him again.

In hindsight, this was something that Akane should've seen coming from a mile away. There had always been something about her friendship with Zuko that had been incomparable to anything in Akane's life. No matter what they had been through, they had always been there for each other when it counted the most. That was something that Akane valued the most about her friendship with Zuko because despite the many difficulties that they have had to overcome, they've always been there for each other in the end.

Looking back, Akane could see when their friendship might have started to shift into something more than what it had been. The biggest turning point in Akane's eyes was probably when they had discovered what had happened with Kyou and she saw just what lengths Zuko was willing to go to protect her. That had made her realise just how deeply he cared for her when he realised just how close he was to losing her.

Growing up, Akane and Zuko had always just been friends. When Akane did find out that they weren't really family, that hardly changed their relationship at all. Zuko still treated her as if she was the sister that Azula never was. They'd always had that close bond that Akane knew came from the amount of time that they spent together with Ursa while Azula was off training with Ozai. If Ozai had managed to mould her into the protégé that he wanted her to be, then Akane really doubted that she and Zuko would've had the bond that they did.

Jealousy was never something that Akane realised she felt towards Zuko until now after seeing him with Jin. Even when Zuko had Katara tied to a tree Akane found herself jealous of the way Zuko was talking to her like they were flirting. Then there was the jealousy that she had felt with the way that Song had acted around him. Part of that had come from her irritation towards Song's actions but most of it had been jealousy. And of course, there had been those times in their childhood whenever Mai showed any interest towards him that made Akane's temper flare.

One conversation in particular came to Akane's mind when she remembered the time that Mai had actually told her to stay away from Zuko when they were younger. Then there were the other times when things would conveniently happen and would be considered enough to break off a friendship. But Akane and Zuko were smart enough to know when Azula's meddling was involved, so that was what they had put those instances down to although Akane had suspected that they had happened because of Mai's own jealousy. If Azula or Mai were here now, they'd probably be relentlessly teasing Akane about being replaced and that Zuko no longer cared about her.

"Bet they'd love that to happen," Akane muttered.

For the rest of their childhood, Akane had watched as Mai's crush on Zuko grew while he remained completely oblivious to it. That was something that Akane was glad for since she wasn't sure how she would've been able to handle Mai and Zuko in some sort of relationship. Even back then, Akane had feared that Zuko would abandon her for Mai after Ursa had left them. Luckily he never did and even now he hadn't really abandoned her, unless Akane counted that kiss with Jin that still felt like betrayal.

With nowhere else to go, Akane continued wandering throughout the Lower Ring until she realised that she also had nowhere else to sleep. She certainly couldn't go back to the apartment because that would mean facing Zuko and Akane didn't want to face him again until she knew exactly what she felt towards him. Not wanting to sleep anywhere that could've been dangerous, Akane stayed up all night with so much to think about.

~*•°•*~

By the time that the sun had risen, Akane still had a million thoughts racing through her mind. Majority of them centred around Zuko, but then there were a few other things still bothering her. When the sun rose, Akane wondered how Iroh and Zuko were doing right now. Had they realised that she was gone? Were they worrying about her? She hoped that they weren't, because Akane figured that some time apart would be good for all of them. They'd been in each other's company for far too long now.

At one point, Akane found herself wondering around a lake near the border that connected the Lower and Middle Rings. For the most part, Akane had kept to herself and avoided contact with anyone who passed her. That was, until Akane caught the sight of a familiar figure strolling past her. Rage instantly filled up inside of Akane and she quickly lost her self-control.

Because that person was none other than Jet.

Without thinking properly, Akane charged towards Jet and knocked him down with one punch to the jaw that he didn't see coming at all. She wasn't going to lie, Akane had felt a twinge of satisfaction from hurting him like that but a small punch to the jaw was nothing compared to what he had done to her face.

"Who are you? Why did you attack me?" Jet demanded as he got up.

"How could you forget me, Jet? Forget what you did to me? To Lee and Mushi?" Akane shrieked, but Jet just stared at her with confusion written on his face as Akane heard footsteps behind her.

What Jet said next confused the hell out of Akane. "Katara?"

Sure enough, standing behind Akane was none other than Katara. Why, just why did she have to bump into these two at the same time? All Akane could do was just stand there awkwardly as Katara's eyes darted from her to Jet.

"I think I can help you," Jet stated confidently.

A look of outrage morphed onto Katara's face and for a second, Akane wasn't sure who it was aimed at. But when Katara bended up water from the lake directly at Jet while screaming in rage, Akane assumed that the look of outrage was meant for Jet. It was clear to Akane that they knew each other and they obviously didn't have a good history, just like Akane had with Jet.

"Katara, I've changed!" Jet yelled as he looked at the wave in fright. The wave hit Jet, sending him back quite a distance.

"Tell it to some other girl, Jet!" Katara seethed, not even sparing Akane a second thought as she bended up the remaining water from the wave and turned it to ice, which she used to send Jet back to a wall.

"I don't want to fight you, I'm here to help!" Jet insisted as he blocked the ice with his swords.

Jet then threw his swords down and reached for something behind his back. Katara quickly fired more ice crystals, witch pinned him to the wall. It wasn't long before the rest of the Avatar's gang showed up.

"Katara, what is it?" Sokka asked.

"Jet's back," Katara replied bitterly as her gaze turned towards Akane. "And he's not alone."

"I'm not with him! I want nothing to do with him!" Akane quickly spoke up, not wanting to be associated with Jet.

"If you're not with him then why are you with him?" Sokka demanded.

"I was walking on my own and I saw him, so I punched him. We have a… history together. Based on your reactions to him I'm assuming that you do too," Akane explained.

"What are you talking about? I've never seen you before," Jet said.

"Oh, don't act like you don't remember me, Jet. You offered me a spot in the Freedom Fighters, remember? Then you attacked me," Akane glared at him as she pointed at the scar from Jet's attack that was now etched on her skin.

"I swear I've never seen her before in my life!" Jet exclaimed.

"We can't trust anything Jet says," Katara said.

"But we don't even know why he's here!" Sokka protested.

"I don't care why he's here, whatever the reason is, it can't be good!" Katara retorted angrily.

"I'm here to help you find Appa!" Jet stated as he opened his hand and revealed what seemed to be a missing poster for their bison.

"Why do you need to find him?" Akane questioned.

"Because he's missing, duh," Sokka replied.

"Katara, we have to give him a chance," Aang said.

"I swear, I've changed! I was a troubled person and I let my anger get out of control, but I don't even have the gang now! I've put all that behind me!" Jet insisted, which made Akane's rage only intensify.

"That's a lie!" Akane exclaimed. "You came to the city with your little Freedom Fighters. I saw them myself. You even offered me a spot on your gang right before you went all crazy and attacked me!"

"He's not lying," Toph stated as she walked up to jet and felt the wall he was pinned to.

"How can you tell?" Sokka queried.

"I can feel his breathing and heartbeat. When people lie, there's a physical reaction. He's telling the truth," Toph explained.

"So you're saying that I'm lying?" Akane crossed her arms.

"That's the problem, cause you're not lying either," Toph scratched her head.

"But Jet doesn't seem to know who she is even though she knows who he is," Sokka pointed out.

"Maybe Akane was pretending to be somebody else when Jet attacked her?" Aang suggested, which Akane had to admit was partly right. Jet did attack her while she was pretending to be someone else. But she couldn't tell them that.

"He still attacked someone!" Katara exclaimed.

"Katara, we don't have any leads. If Jet says he can take us to Appa, we have to check it out," Aang reasoned.

"All right," Katara reluctantly conceded before pointed and looked angrily at Jet. "But we're not letting you out of our sight."

Almost as if they had forgotten that she was standing there, they started to walk off together while Akane remained standing in her spot. The last time she had seen the Avatar's gang was in the abandoned Earth Kingdom town before she was struck down by Azula. She had helped them out before and had the sudden urge to help them out again.

"Um, can I tag along for the ride?" Akane asked nervously as she approached them.

"Why would you want to help us?" Sokka questioned.

"I don't really have anywhere else to go or anything else to do," Akane mumbled, hoping that they wouldn't ask anything more of her.

"Oh yeah, well, what about the angry jerk? Shouldn't you be tagging along with him?" Sokka crossed his arms.

"Actually, I have no idea where the angry jerk is," Akane lied, not wanting to reveal that Iroh and Zuko were also in the city. That would lead to a very big problem. "We had a falling out… So I decided to go off on my own. I have no intentions of causing any problems, which you guys should know from my past actions."

"Your past actions are confusing," Sokka muttered. "First, you try to hunt us down with the angry jerk and then you go around saving us while still working with the angry jerk."

"Toph, is she telling the truth?" Katara asked and Akane hoped more than anything that Toph would lie for her.

"Yeah, she's here alone," Toph confirmed after a slight pause, which Akane was thankful for.

"We need as much help as we can get in finding Appa, so if Akane wants to help us then we should let her," Aang said.

"Alright, she can come as well," Sokka conceded.

Once the initial awkwardness transpired, Akane followed after the Avatar and his friends. Despite knowing that they were in the city, Akane would've never expected them to cross paths with each other like this. There was definitely some distrust with them and Jet, just like there was with them and herself. That was something that Toph made evident as she pulled Akane back a safe enough distance from the others so that they could talk.

"So, are you going to tell me what you really want with us?" Toph interrogated her.

"Nothing, really," Akane admitted, which was the truth. "I honestly don't have anything better to do."

"You're not lying there, and you weren't lying when you said you had a falling out with the angry jerk either. But you were lying when you said you're here alone," Toph said.

Akane sighed, "We didn't come to Ba Sing Se to cause trouble, honestly. We came here because we were wanted by the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. We're only here because it's the safest place from anything, minus Jet, of course."

"And what's the deal with you and him?" Toph asked.

"Like I said, we met on our way to the city and he offered me a spot in his little gang. Then he attacked me when he started to suspect that I was Fire Nation," Akane replied.

"So you were pretending to be someone else. But you still know him, which I should've picked up on," Toph grumbled. "Somethings not right with him. He's being sincere, but something's missing."

"His sanity, perhaps?" Akane suggested, earning a chuckle from Toph.

"You're not too bad for a Fire Nation chick," Toph remarked.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Akane chuckled.

They ended up following Jet to some barn where Appa was supposedly being kept. When they got there and Appa was nowhere in sight, Akane was ready to lay another punch on Jet. But then the worker told them that Appa had been taken to Whaletail Island which prompted them to decide to leave Ba Sing Se in the hopes of finding their missing bison.

That had actually made Akane feel relieved since them leaving the city made Akane feel a lot more relaxed knowing that the Avatar's team wouldn't be in Ba Sing Se to cause any trouble for her, Iroh and Zuko.

I might as well call them 'Team Avatar' at this point since that's exactly what they are. Or maybe 'the Gaang.' Akane thought to herself as they left the barn.

"We're finally leaving Ba Sing Se," Toph spread her arms outward in celebration as they made their plans. "Worst… city… ever!"

"Jet!" a surprised voice called out, immediately catching their attention.

Behind them was Smellerbee and Longshot, members of Jet's little 'gang' who he had supposedly left behind. Obviously he hadn't left them far enough since they were able to find him pretty easily.

"I thought you said you didn't have your "gang" anymore!" Katara looked angrily at Jet.

"I don't," Jet turned back to Smellerbee.

"We were so worried," Smellerbee ran up to Jet and hugged him. "How did you get away from the Dai Li?"

"The Dai Li!?" Katara squawked in shock.

"I don't know what she's talking about!" Jet exclaimed.

"He got arrested by the Dai Li a couple of weeks ago. We saw them drag him away!" Smellerbee explained.

"Right after you attacked me!" Akane seethed angrily.

"This doesn't make any sense," Toph observed as she felt the ground between the three of them. "They're all telling the truth."

"That's impossible," Katara stated.

"No it's not! Toph can't tell who's lying because they all think they're telling the truth. Jet's been brainwashed!" Sokka proclaimed.

"That's crazy! It can't be!" Jet insisted as he glanced at the others who started surrounding him. "Stay away from me!"

"Now do you remember me, Jet? The girl who you threatened to kill?" Akane demanded.

"You threatened to kill her?" Katara shrieked in horror.

"N-no! I didn't… I swear!" Jet spluttered.

"Maybe this will jog your memory – If not, I'll slice her head off!" Akane repeated the threat that Jet had tried to bait Zuko with in their fight.

"What is she even doing here?" Smellerbee asked.

"Akane's helping us find Appa, just like Jet was supposedly doing," Aang replied.

Smellerbee narrowed her eyes, "Akane wasn't the name that you gave us."

Akane's face paled. Holy shit, she was screwed. If it meant Iroh and Zuko remaining unbothered and her getting in trouble, Akane was hoping more than anything that Smellerbee would leave them out of this.

"Okay, so I wasn't being completely honest about who I was," Akane admitted. "But I had my reasons for doing so. I couldn't just tell anyone who I was."

Smellerbee's eyes widened at the implication of Akane's words and hatred soon morphed onto her face, "So Jet was right. You really are nothing more than ash maker scum and Jet was wrongfully imprisoned for just wanting to do what was right."

"What was right? He threatened to kill me!" Akane hissed.

"He would've been doing everyone here a favour. People like you don't have the right to be here," Smellerbee seethed.

"Okay," Sokka spoke up as he stepped in between of Akane and Smellerbee, who looked like they were about to pounce on each other. "Let's take this somewhere we can sort this out without getting into any trouble that we don't want."

In that moment, Akane just felt like running off then and there but since there was a lot to resolve with Jet, Akane decided to remain with Team Avatar. With any luck, she just might be able to sort out any animosity between her and the Freedom Fighters so that it wouldn't impact Iroh and Zuko. Because the last thing that Akane wanted was for them to get in trouble because of her actions.

~*•°•*~

Later that night, they all stood around Jet as he sat in his apartment. The biggest problem that Akane was facing was the animosity from Smellerbee and Longshot who kept on sending dirty looks her way. As for Jet, he was just confused about everything and Akane found herself pitying him despite what he did to her.

Along with the bitterness that Akane felt towards Jet, she also felt guilty because the Dai Li had obviously done something to him. Even though his actions had caused her pain, they had come from a good place and he was trying to protect people, even if they didn't need protecting from them.

"The Dai Li must have sent Jet to mislead us, and that janitor was part of their plot, too!" Katara exclaimed as they interrogated Jet.

"I bet they have Appa here in the city," Aang stated. "Maybe he's in the same place they took Jet! Where did they take you?"

"Nowhere!" Jet replied, looking like a lost puppy that made it even harder for Akane to hate him. "I- I don't know what you're talking about!"

"We need to find a way to jog his real memories," Aang said.

"Maybe Katara should kiss him. That should bring something back!" Sokka suggested teasingly.

"Maybe you should kiss him, Sokka!" Katara remarked, causing Akane to laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" Smellerbee hissed at her.

"Nothing that concerns you," Akane muttered.

"Hey, just an idea!" Sokka defended himself.

"A bad one," Aang scowled.

Do I smell jealousy coming from Aang? Of course, it's jealousy. If anyone would know anything about jealousy it's me since it's all I've been feeling lately. Akane thought to herself.

"Ooh, wait! I've got it!" Sokka exclaimed as he plucked a straw from the mattress, poked it into Jet's mouth in trademark fashion and regarded him thoughtfully.

"I don't think it's working," Jet spat it out.

"Try to think of something from your past that triggers your emotions," Toph suggested.

"The Fire Nation! Remember what they did to your family! To all of us!" Smellerbee exclaimed as she gave Akane another look of distaste.

"Close your eyes. Picture it," Katara urged, and Akane found it uncomfortable that they were indirectly using Jet's hatred of her to bring his memories back, which certainly wouldn't be good for her.

The idea was enough for Jet as he closed his eyes as sweat beads started to form on his forehead. Whatever Jet was thinking of, it had to have been something traumatic as he jerked backwards, horror on his face.

"No! It's too painful!" Jet said.

"Maybe this will help," Katara suggested as she took water and put it around his ears, using healing to clear his mind.

It astounded Akane how Katara's attitude towards Jet had suddenly changed. From seemingly hating his guts to now being supportive of him. Her change of attitude most likely came from the fact that Jet had been hurt, which made Akane realised that that was probably why Katara wasn't so frosty towards her. That was what made Akane realise that she had been taking pity from everyone her entire life, just like the pity that she was giving Jet.

Whatever Katara was doing with her waterbending healing seemed to do the trick for Jet, as he suddenly found himself remembering what had happened, which made Akane replace her pity for him with nerves.

"They took me to a headquarters under the water. Like a lake!" Jet stated.

"Wait! Remember what Joo Dee said? She said she went on vacation to Lake Laogai!" Sokka exclaimed.

"That's it! Lake Laogai!" Jet proclaimed as he stood up.

"They could be hiding Appa there as well. We should check it out," Aang suggested.

Katara nodded, "You're right, Aang. If it means finding Appa we have to go see if we can."

"I'll go with you," Jet said as Smellerbee and Longshot nodded as well.

"What do we do with her?" Toph pointed at Akane who shifted uncomfortably in her spot.

"I say that we should take her along and then throw her over to the Dai Li," Smellerbee suggested. "People like her deserve to have whatever happened to Jet. He shouldn't have been punished for doing what was right."

"Please enlighten me why threatening to kill someone is the right thing," Akane remarked.

"It's okay if it was someone like you, especially after what you and your people have done to so many other innocent lives," Smellerbee snarled.

Akane glared at her, "I have never hurt or killed anyone in my life. I know that it might be hard to believe since it goes against everything you think you know but not all people from the Fire Nation are murderous monsters. Some of us don't like this war just as much as you do."

"Akane, do you want to come with us?" Aang stepped forward before a full-on argument broke out between the two girls. "I'll understand if you don't want to come, and I'll make sure that you don't get into any trouble with the Dai Li."

"I'm in too deep now to just let you guys go without me," Akane shrugged.

"Then it's settled. Akane will come with us to Lake Laogai and we'll work together," Sokka proclaimed, glancing between Akane and Smellerbee.

They all nodded in agreement and started heading out of Jet's apartment and started making plans for getting to Lake Laogai. As they walked throughout the city, Akane could feel someone's gaze on her that wasn't like the glare that Smellerbee kept on shooting her way. It was a look from Jet that kept Akane distracted because he wasn't looking at her with pure hatred like she would've thought he would once he remembered.

"What is it?" Akane snapped, not liking the look he was giving her any more than Smellerbee's glares.

"We've met before, haven't we?" Jet stated.

"Yeah, when you threatened to kill me and tried to kill my family, remember?" Akane drawled.

"No," Jet groaned. "I feel like somethings missing – I know that something's missing. I'm remembering the Dai Li and being taken away, but everything before that is all fuzzy."

"Oh," Akane murmured, figuring that it was probably Jets brainwashed mind that had forgotten that night and everything before it.

"I did that, didn't I?" Jet pointed at the scar on Akane's face.

"You did," Akane replied, with hardly any venom or bitterness in her tone. It was hard to feel angry at Jet when she had indirectly put him in such a horrible position.

"I'm sorry," Jet apologised.

"What? Why would you apologise to me, a Fire Nation scum and ash maker?" Akane questioned.

"I don't know. I know that I came to Ba Sing Se to make a fresh start, and hurting someone like I apparently hurt you doesn't seem right. And if those guys can trust you than I feel like I can too," Jet answered.

Akane nodded, "Then I'll trust you. But please don't tell them about the people that I was with if you remember them. I can't have them knowing that they're here as well since it would only cause unnecessary problems."

"If you haven't hurt anyone, then it shouldn't be a problem," Jet said.

Even though Akane knew that part of Jet's change in attitude towards her was because of his brainwashed mind, she was still hoping that part of what he said was genuine and that once he did get his head cleared out, he wouldn't come after her like he did before. All Akane wanted to do was help Team Avatar get their bison back and go back to figuring things out. Maybe this new adventure would give her the perspective she needed.

~*•°•*~

Upon arriving at what was supposedly Lake Laogai, Akane was surprised by what she saw. It didn't seem like a place where you would hide a secret headquarters. Then again, that was probably exactly why they had chosen this place. Their journey to Lake Laogai had been awkward to say the least, with the unresolved tension between Akane and Jet along with the frustration between Akane and Smellerbee while the others were just trying to keep everything peaceful.

"So where's this secret headquarters?" Sokka asked as they approached the lake.

"Under the water, I think," Jet replied and Akane suddenly realised that they really shouldn't be taking directions from someone who was brainwashed. But now wasn't the time to cause any drama.

"There's a tunnel right there by the shore," Toph stated, pointing to the side.

Whistling as she did so, Toph walked up to the edge of the shore and used her earthbending to bring up a slab of rock with an entrance. She then moved the rock out of the way with the same technique and they all looked down at the tunnel as Aang's lemur flew away.

Just like Jet said it was, the headquarters was located underneath the lake. It was unlike anything that Akane had seen before. She knew that there was a secret headquarters in the Fire Nation underneath the volcano, but it wasn't as big and elaborate as this one. They seemed to be letting Jet take the lead, something that Akane wasn't so sure of.

"Is letting a guy who was under the influence of the Dai Li guide us around their secret headquarters really the smartest idea?" Akane questioned as Jet lead them through.

"Jet knows what he's doing, so shut your mouth," Smellerbee hissed.

"Does he really know what he's doing if he hardly remembers any of it?" Akane remarked, since it was clear to them that Jet's memory was still fuzzy.

"You wouldn't know what you're talking about since you've never experienced something like that. If anyone should've been taken off and brainwashed by the Dai Li, it should've been you and your little friends," Smellerbee growled.

"How about both of you shut your mouths so that we don't get caught?" Sokka snapped.

"She started it," Akane mumbled.

"You were the one who questioned Jet's authority," Smellerbee argued.

Deciding to just stop pushing her luck with Smellerbee, Akane kept her mouth shut and walked at a safe enough distance away from the girl in case she decided to flip out and attack her. If anyone was going to flip out it would've been Smellerbee, since Akane had no intentions of hurting anyone just like she never had.

"It's all starting to come back to me!" Jet said.

Around a nearby corner, they walked past a room where they saw a Dai Li agent standing beside a bright light that was in front of a group of women wearing the exact same clothes.

"I'm Joo Dee. Welcome to Ba Sing Se," the Dai Li agent stated.

"I'm Joo Dee. Welcome to Ba Sing Se," the women repeated simultaneously, without missing a beat.

"We're so lucky to have our walls to create order," the Dai Li agent stated.

"We're so lucky to have our walls to create order," the women repeated in order once again.

"Creepy," Akane muttered.

It seemed as though the more Akane dug into Ba Sing Se, the more corrupt she realised the city was. While it might have been the safest place from the Fire Nation, Akane was beginning to realise that it wasn't the safest place from the Earth Kingdom itself. Everything here was governed so precisely and that wasn't something that Akane liked.

"I think there might be a cell big enough to hold Appa up ahead," Jet stated as they approached a nearby door. "I think it's through here!"

Entering the room, everyone was anticipating to see Appa waiting inside for them. Only waiting for them wasn't the Avatar's flying bison. Waiting for them were several Dai Li agents, all of whom were clinging to the ceiling and preparing to fight.

"Now that's something different," Sokka commented at the sight in front of them.

"You have made yourselves enemies of the state. Take them into custody," the man at the front ordered – who Akane assumed was their leader, Long Feng based on what Team Avatar had told her.

On his order, the Dai Li agents jumped off the ceiling and surrounded them. Two agents fired rock gloves, but Toph broke them up and sent two agents flying through the air with rock pillars. Jet ran towards the agents and broke two other gloves fired by agents with his swords, and tripped another. Meanwhile, Akane was trying to battle without using her firebending since that would've exposed her and would've put Iroh and Zuko at risk as well. At one point, Akane saw a rock glove come hurling towards Smellerbee who was otherwise occupied. Despite the bitterness between them, Akane couldn't just let her get hurt like that in good conscience so she managed to save Smellerbee by pushing her out of the way.

"What was that for?" Smellerbee growled.

"I was saving your butt," Akane remarked.

"Oh…" Smellerbee trailed off, speechless. "Why?"

"Because I couldn't let you get hurt in good conscience," Akane replied before heading back off, leaving Smellerbee to think that maybe the girl wasn't as bad as she thought she was.

A full battle was beginning to ensue, with Aang dealing with a pair of Dai Li agents while Sokka and Katara destroyed Dai Li gloves, but they were soon grabbed by another pair. They were saved by Toph who created a rock wall and rose the ground up. She then knocked away the four Dai Li agents that attacked her, but a glove captured her and Jet swung by to free her. The agent flew his other rock glove, and Longshot fired an arrow, which destroyed the glove. Jet jumped in front of Longshot to hold off more of their rock attacks. Any attacks that were sent Akane's way, she waited until they were just inches away from her before punching her arms out and using the smallest ounce of firebending to break them.

"Long Feng is escaping!" Aang shouted as he knocked two agents away with airbending.

Because she was already at a close enough distance to Long Feng, Akane raced after him, with Aang and Jet hot on her heels. They headed to another part of the headquarters with many pipes of all sizes sticking out of the walls, with some of them pouring out water, but they were soon locked in by Long Feng.

"All right, Avatar, you've caused me enough problems. This is your last chance…" Long Feng trailed off with a smirk. "If you want your bison back."

"You do have Appa! Tell me where he is!" Aang demanded.

"Agree to exit the city now, and I'll waive all charges against you and allow you to leave with your lost pet," Long Feng offered.

"You just want to save yourself the humiliation of getting defeated," Akane remarked.

"You're in no position to bargain," Jet snarled.

"Am I not?" Long Feng asked.

"You're definitely not!" Aang yelled as he got into a fighting position.

"Jet, the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai," Long Feng stated.

"What? That's all you've got?" Akane crossed her arms.

"I am honoured to accept his invitation," Jet said.

Before Akane and Aang had the chance to react, Jet swung his swords at Aang as he tried attacking Akane as well. The closer she looked at Jet, she realised that his eyes no longer appeared normal and his pupils had widened. That was when Akane realised that what Long Feng had said had been some kind of secret message to trigger Jet's brainwashing, and now they were fighting against a brainwashed fighter who had every intention of finishing them off.

"Jet, it's me, Aang!" Aang yelled as he ran back, refusing to fight. "You don't have to do this!"

"I'm afraid he no longer has a choice," Long Feng proclaimed.

"You're a monster, you know that, right?" Akane snarled as she dodged Jet's attacks.

"What would you know about monsters, girl?" Long Feng questioned.

No matter what Aang or Akane tried saying, Jet continued acting under Long Feng's orders as he attacked them. Neither of them wanted to really attack Jet, all they wanted to do was break whatever spell Long Feng had put him under.

"Jet, I'm your friend! Look inside your heart!" Aang insisted.

"Do your duty, Jet!" Long Feng ordered.

"He can't make you do this! You're a Freedom Fighter!" Aang shouted.

Those seemed to be the magic words for Jet, since he suddenly straightened up in shock. It was almost as if a million scenes suddenly went through Jet's mind, reminding him of who he was and what he really wanted to fight for. Then Jet's irises returned to normal, and Akane dared to think that meant he was now un-brainwashed.

"Do it! Do it now!" Long Feng demanded.

Everything that happened next happened in slow motion for Akane. When Jet spun around and fired a sword at Long Feng, she had seen the earthbenders reaction before he reacted. As Long Feng uplifted a rock and fired it towards Jet, Akane reacted entirely based on someone else's self-preservation. Surprising herself with her actions, she'd punched a fire blast towards the rock, just as its movement sent Jet flying backwards but right before it could strike him.

She had saved him. Akane had saved Jet, after what he had done to her. And she didn't regret it one bit.

They hardly had any time to react as Long Feng made his escape and they went to Jet's aid, deciding that he was more important to worry about than the earthbender. Glancing down at Jet, Akane let out a sigh of relief as she realised that he was still alive.

"I'm sorry, Aang," Jet apologised.

"It's not your fault," Aang murmured.

Jet glanced at Akane, "I'm sorry for what I did to you too."

"You remember me now?" Akane asked nervously, since if Jet remembered her then he would remember Iroh and Zuko.

"I do," Jet nodded. "I remember Mushi and Lee too. I hope they're okay."

Relief flooded through Akane as she realised the implications of Jet's words. He wasn't going to tell them, which she was grateful for. That was when they were joined by the others who ran to help them.

"What happened?" Smellerbee asked as she rushed to Jet's aid.

"Long Feng used his brainwashing on Jet to attack us. Then when we got rid of it, Jet attacked Long Feng who tried to kill Jet with his earthbending, but Akane saved him," Aang replied, causing Smellerbee's eyes to widen.

"If it hadn't been for her, he probably would've succeeded in what he tried to do," Jet murmured weakly.

"You don't appear to have any potentially long-term injuries, which is good," Katara stated as she quickly healed him.

"You guys go and find Appa, we'll take care of Jet," Smellerbee said.

"We're not going to leave you," Katara protested.

"There's no time," Longshot spoke up, surprising all of them. "We'll take care of him. He's our leader."

"Don't worry, Katara. I'll be fine," Jet smiled at her reassuringly.

Nodding, Katara got up and started to leave with the others while Akane just remained standing there. Saving Jet hadn't been something that she intended on doing, since there was a time when she would've just let him die after what he did to her. But Akane knew that it would've been wrong of her to let it happen when she could've prevented it.

"Akane, are you coming with us?" Sokka asked from the door.

"No," Akane replied. "I'll stay with them. I hope you guys find Appa."

Sokka nodded, "See you on the other side, then."

Staying with Jet had also not been something that Akane intended on doing, but just like when she first met him Akane found something that was endearing her to him once again. She was reminded of the similarities between him and Zuko, which she figured was why she wanted to help him, like she wanted to help Zuko.

"I'm sorry for how I acted towards you before," Smellerbee apologised.

"It's okay, if I were you I probably would've hated me too," Akane smiled weakly.

"Thank you for saving Jet, even though you had no reason to and any reason to let him die. If he had died… I don't know what Longshot and I would've done," Smellerbee murmured.

"I get it. I know what it's like to lose someone you care about, especially someone you rely on so much," Akane said, referring to Ursa.

"Let's not think about that. Let's just get out of this bloody place," Jet remarked from the ground.

Together with Smellerbee and Longshot, she helped them pick Jet up and carry him out of the headquarters. Despite what had happened between Akane and Jet in the past, Akane couldn't bring herself to hate him now after saving his life. That was when Akane realised that she had never hated Jet, she had just felt betrayed by what he had done after she had opened herself up to him.

Whatever animosity that had previously existed between them was now gone, and they were wiping the slate clean. Now Akane was going to help Jet get back on his feet, and hopefully help him in the same way she wanted to help Zuko. After all, if Akane could save his life than surely she could save his corrupted mind.

So that plot twist I mentioned was me not killing Jet off and keeping him alive, that's why this chapter was called Saving the Unsaveable even though I'm not exactly sure if unsaveable is a word since word couldn't register it, lol. Some people might like what I did, while some others might not. But that was just me using my creative licence to put my own twist on things like I have done so far. Trust me when I say that I had my reasons for not killing Jet off and you'll see what those reasons were later on. We've only got two more chapters left of Book Two, which means the Crossroads of Destiny is right around the corner and I'm so excited to write it.

SPECIAL MENTIONS

Mogor: Even though Zuko might've enjoyed some of his date with Jin, he never really showed any interest in her after that again so I wouldn't say that Jin's taken his heart. That's just what Akane fears after her startling realisations. As for your questions, while Akane didn't actively seek out the Gaang she ended up crossing paths with them anyways and I can't answer the last question without giving much away so you'll just have to wait and see.

Powerpuff: It's not like Akane has much of a choice in the matter, since dying is definitely not something that she wants with so much more to give. I've said it before but Akane's origins won't be revealed until very later on in the story, like towards the very end of it but there will be subtle hints dropped along the way.

Reading Reviewer: Nothing is better than being the author since you knew exactly how the story is going to go, just like I know exactly how this story is going to turn out. Everything has been planned even though there are a few uncertainties with certain things, but for the most part I know exactly where this is going.